University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
KA'ANAPALI CLASSIC COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL
UConn Golfers Wrap Up Fall Schedule In Hawaii
10/26/2022 10:57:00 PM | Men's Golf
UConn Athletic Communications / Oct. 27, 2022
LAHAINA, Maui – The UConn golf team wraps up the fall portion of its 2022-23 season this weekend with a trip to Hawaii to compete against a prestigious field in the eighth annual Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational.
The 20-team field, coming from 17 different states and representing 12 different conferences, will compete in a 54-hole, three-day event at the Royal Ka'anapali Golf Course.
"With the tradewinds and the Bermuda grass, the golf course is a tremendous challenge," UConn coach Dave Pezzino said. "But I think the golf course sets up well for the group that is going out there."
The UConn group in Hawaii is led by grad student Jared Nelson (Rutland, Vt.), who leads the Huskies in scoring (69.7) and has three Top Two finishes in four tournaments this year.
Junior Jimmy Paradise (Tampa, Fla.) is second on the team in scoring (72.9), with two Top 20 finishes, and junior Tommy Dallahan (73.2) has two Top 15 finishes in two outings.
Sophomore Trevor Lopez (Winchester, Mass.), averaging 74.2, with a Top 10 finish, and freshman Colin Spencer (Mashpee, Mass.), averaging 74.3, round out UConn's quintet. Sophomore Vikram Konanki (Newton, Mass.), averaging 75.8, will compete as an individual at the event.
"I like Jared's leadership through practice this week," Pezzino said. "We talked about shots we're going to be faced with – low-running chip shots to keep the ball out of the wind, knocked down tee shots. We talked about just playing golf, now worrying about what swings look like – just competing."
Obviously, the venue and the tropical setting can be distracting.
"Everybody else gets excited that we're going to Hawaii, but for us, it's a business trip," Pezzino said. "The field is really good, the strongest field we'll face next to a (NCAA) regional, so that part of it is what we're most focused on. We put in some serious work on the golf course. This tournament will let us know how good our 'good' is."
Defending Ka'anapali Classic champion Kansas leads the 2022 tourney field. Joining the Jayhawks and UConn are Air Force, Boise State, Clemson, Colorado, CSUN, Denver, East Tennessee State, Georgia, Gonzaga, Hawaii, Liberty, Louisiana Lafayette, Mississippi, Mount St. Mary's, North Florida, Oklahoma, UC Irvine, and Wyoming.
The strong field includes seven teams that qualified for the 2022 NCAA Championships and nine teams currently ranked among the Top 100 .
UConn comes into the Ka'anapali Classic with three Top Five finishes in four tournaments this season.
Following their return from Hawaii, the Huskies will take a three-month semester break before starting the spring portion of the 2022-23 season on Feb. 6 at BIG EAST Match Play at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Players Mentioned
